


Mihwa

by changdori (janie6789)



Series: Mihwa [1]
Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-05-20 06:51:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5995642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janie6789/pseuds/changdori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yunho belongs to the royal family, while Changmin belongs to the lineage of slaves that serve them. Yunho and Changmin love each other and only each other -- until each of their children are born.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They grew up together as children.

They would play together, and eat together, bathe together.

They would even have lessons together during the day. They learned the literature books, the mathematics, the foreign languages, the music and the archery. But in the evenings, Yunho went to his lessons to learn his duties as prince and future king, and Changmin would go to his own lessons to learn what it means to be a Mihwa and how best to serve Yunho.

So perhaps, an element of attachment was inevitable.

But love… That was different.

 

 

Changmin never knew his mother, as was traditional. He was close to his father, of course. He was the one who gave Changmin the evening lessons, so Changmin saw him for at least a couple hours a day.

He loved his father, but usually, he found that it was his father who made him upset with his strict rules and discipline. It was Changmin's father who made sure that Yunho was in his bed laden with silk and fur at night, and that Changmin was on the spread of cotton blankets on the floor next to Yunho's bed.

When Changmin's father left, Changmin would get up from his cotton bedding and Yunho would let Changmin come up onto his bed. Then little Changmin would sidle up against Yunho, and Yunho would cuddle him. And every day, Changmin had something to say to Yunho, because he always needed some sort of reassurance and love from Yunho.

Always.

When Changmin was seven and Yunho was nine, Changmin finally understood what being a slave meant, and that was when he realized that he would never be free.

Changmin cried every night. Yunho would invite him up to his bed every night, and whispered apologies and words of love into his ear. And then they would cuddle and then fall asleep together, usually Yunho with his arms wrapped around Changmin in comfort.

Changmin's father would not infrequently catch Changmin asleep beside Yunho in the mornings because Changmin sometimes wouldn't be able to wake up on time to crawl into his own bedding.

His father always told Changmin that the bed was for Yunho and Yunho only, and he got mad at Changmin when he caught him. Sometimes he reduced Changmin to tears right there in the bedroom, and Yunho would have to ask him to stop yelling at Changmin.

But his father never got mad at Yunho. In fact, he would give a small smile, and bow to little Yunho, and thank him.

It took Changmin a long, long while to understand why.

 

 

They grew taller.

They grew up.

And in all that time, they loved each other intensely and passionately.

It didn't matter that Yunho was a prince and Changmin was a slave.

They were lovers.

 

 

A Mihwa's place in the palace was unique to say the least. While a Mihwa was the same as any slave on paper, because of his deep lineage and because of how closely he worked with the Royal Family, he was treated with respect. No one bowed to the Mihwa, but everyone was expected to follow orders from a Mihwa, if it were ever given, because it would be an indirect Royal Order.

In Changmin's case, Yunho made it all the more clear to all of his subjects; Changmin was not to be touched without Yunho's explicit permission, and Changmin was to be respected. As such, Changmin was treated almost as part of the Royal Family, with how much love and trust Yunho always showed him.

Everyone knew they were lovers, but no one dared question it.

 

 

When Yunho's father died, Yunho took the throne.

Changmin's father passed away quite soon afterwards, and Yunho let Changmin spend several days in mourning. Changmin didn't think he would be so sad to lose his father, but he found that he was.

He loved his father, after all.

 

 

When Yunho had to marry, Changmin burned with jealousy, because Yunho was his, and only his. Yunho got married to a beautiful noble girl named Boa who would become Queen. Changmin got his own bedroom for the first time in his life, because Yunho refused to let him sleep with the other slaves in their cramped quarters.

Boa was kind to Changmin, and Changmin was at least civil with her, reminding to himself that she was only there for the royal lineage, and respect as Yunho might, she would never become Yunho's lover. When she gave birth to a son about a year later, Changmin almost cried tears of joy because that meant Yunho and Boa would never have to share a bed again.

When Yunho's son Sungjun was born, Changmin kept his distance from Yunho for the first time. Changmin was confused, because now he was sharing Yunho's love with someone else. Yunho looked at his son in a way he'd never looked at Changmin before. Changmin tried, tried as hard as he could to think of Sungjun as his own son and to give him as much love as Yunho did. But Changmin had never been great with kids the way Yunho was, and he simply wasn't interested. Sungjun cried whenever Yunho put him in Changmin's arms, and Changmin wasn't too keen on holding him either. But now, Yunho and Changmin had so little time alone together, and all Changmin could do was wait for Sungjun to grow up, so that Yunho wouldn't spend all of his time with his baby and would make time for Changmin again.

Changmin was not required to marry, but when he had to share a bedroom with another woman, Changmin burned with guilt and shame. Yunho had found Changmin the prettiest slave in the entire palace named Krystal, and he had to personally arrange them to spend a few nights together. The fact that the sole reason for this whole affair was to give Yunho's son a Mihwa of his own didn't bother Changmin at the time; his whole life was dedicated to serving the royal line, after all, and so were his descendants'. What did bother him was that he would be spending the night with anyone other than Yunho.

 "I don't like it," Changmin complained. "I don't like that I have to do this. It feels like I'm being unfaithful."

Yunho chuckled. "I know you love me and only me."

"I still don't like it," said Changmin. "I hate that I have to be with anyone besides you."

"I don't like that either," admitted Yunho. "But you're only doing this because my son's going to need a Mihwa too."

"I know."

"You don't have to make love with her," whispered Yunho, kissing Changmin. "Just make my son a Mihwa."

 

 

Before they spent the night together in bed, Changmin and Krystal got to spend a bit of time during the evening just sitting and talking.

"I'm so sorry," said Changmin, feeling guilty.

However, Krystal shook her head. "I will be freed after I give birth. You don't have to feel bad for me."

Changmin sighed. "Where will you be going afterwards?"

"I will be going back to my hometown in China. That's where my family is."

Changmin nodded slowly as Krystal smiled.

"Don't feel sorry," said Krystal.

Changmin still didn't love her, but he still felt more at ease.

 

 

Changmin took care of Krystal throughout her pregnancy, and that was when they actually got close. They never loved each other. But they were close enough to talk every night, and share moments of happiness, fear, and sadness.

Krystal would be out of Changmin's life forever as soon she gave birth. It was dictated that if she gave birth to a son, she would give the baby over to Changmin to be raised by him only; if a daughter, she would live with Krystal never to see Changmin again.

They would often hold hands together at night in Krystal's bedroom at the palace and they would cry and pray together. They would fantasize dangerous fantasies about running away together and raising their child together, then despair knowing that it could never happen. Changmin would apologize over and over in tears, and then Krystal would apologize over and over in tears – and then they would pray that the gods would not be so cruel.

 

 

But as always, they were.

History and the laws dictated that Changmin wasn't allowed to be there for the childbirth, because Changmin wasn't allowed to see the baby until it was confirmed that it was a boy.

Yunho had informed Changmin that he would be locking him in a room once Krystal went into labour, and at the time, Changmin had felt the tiniest pang of disappointment and betrayal. But then his lifetime's worth of training had kicked in and he had nodded and agreed with Yunho.

And so Changmin paced in the empty room alone, never able to sleep and occasionally trying the door to see if his desperate prayers were heard by the gods and the door had miraculously unlocked, but the gods remained cruel.

So Changmin spent hours and hours in the room alone, and he was as desperate as anyone could imagine for news until Yunho finally popped in with a servant carrying a plate of food for Changmin.

"How is she?" demanded Changmin right away, forgoing the bowing rites.

"She's still in labour."

Changmin felt a surge of anger and frustration, and considered making a run for the door while it was open. However, before he could make a decision, Yunho had wrapped his arms around Changmin and was murmuring, "It won't be long now. I'm so sorry."

Changmin pushed him away. "I don't want to talk to you right now," he said angrily. "I can't believe you won't let me be there for her."

Yunho looked taken aback. "But – But Changmin –"

"Let me go to her," said Changmin through gritted teeth.

Yunho sent the servant off before facing Changmin again, giving him a stern look that he'd rarely ever used. "Changmin, calm down."

"Please."

"You can't. Changmin, there are laws."

Changmin clenched his teeth harder.

"If you're not going to let me see her, get out," said Changmin, almost shaking in anger. He picked up the plate that the servant had set down on the small table. "And take this with you. You are sorely mistaken if you thought I could get food down my throat right now."

"Changmin."

"I don't want to see you here again."

Yunho looked hurt for a brief moment before he actually turned and opened the door to leave. Just before he left though, he whispered, "I love you."

Changmin didn't reply.

 

 

Changmin was in tears by the time the door finally opened again.

Changmin almost let out a sob as he saw that it was Kyuhyun, the doctor, who came to Changmin with the baby in his arms.

Changmin knew with just that that the baby was a boy, and that he would be living with Changmin. "How is she?" croaked Changmin.

"She did well," whispered Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun held out the baby. "Congratulations," he said with a weak smile, and then carefully held the baby out for Changmin.

Changmin choked out a sob as he took the baby in his own arms. As soon as he held the tiny, new life into his arms, he let out a soft, "Oh," because this felt so surreal and unbelievable and indescribable, and the baby with his tiny eyes and nose and mouth and fingers was the most beautiful and precious thing he'd ever seen. He just stood there, crying, and finally, he lowered his head to put his cheek against his son's – his _son's_. His breath had been taken away from him, and he felt a warmth in his chest that he'd never felt before.

"He's – he's – just – just perfect," managed Changmin.

Another tear slid down Changmin's cheek, and his heart was broken, because Krystal was never going to see this beautiful baby again and because this baby would never know his mother. But right at that moment, the moment when Changmin was repeating _I'm a dad, I'm a dad, I'm a dad_ in his head, he already knew that he would raise this beautiful baby as best as he possibly can, even if it cost him his life.

 

 

Yunho came to Changmin's bedroom to see Changmin and the baby in the evening. Changmin was still sitting on the couch with the baby in his arms, and Kyuhyun had kept near to keep him company (not that Changmin particularly needed it, but Changmin at least had someone to gush to about his son).  When Yunho entered, he dismissed Kyuhyun.

Yunho made to take the seat next to Changmin and Changmin made space for him.

"He's beautiful," said Yunho carefully, eyeing Changmin.

Changmin smiled. "Isn't he?" he said, still in awe. Yunho nodded.

"May I?" said Yunho, holding out his arms. Changmin hesitated for a slight bit, but then he very, very carefully placed his sleeping son in Yunho's arms. Yunho looked as natural as always while holding the baby, and Changmin watched as Yunho ran a loving hand over the infant's cheek.

"Do you need help naming him?"

"Krystal and I already thought about it," said Changmin. He took a glance up at Yunho, because he felt a bit bad about not telling Yunho about that. "We wanted his name to be Chanhyung."

Yunho nodded slowly. "It's a nice name."

"Thank you."

Changmin took the baby back when he began to stir in Yunho's arms, waking from his sleep.

As he did so, Yunho spoke quietly. "Changmin…"

Changmin looked up at Yunho. Yunho reached out and stroked Changmin's cheek lightly. "You know I love you more than anyone else in the world."

Changmin smiled. "I know."

"I'm so sorry," whispered Yunho. He leaned forward and kissed Changmin, and Changmin turned his own head to kiss Yunho back.

The still loved each other.

 

 

After Chanhyung was born, Changmin and Yunho spent even more time apart. Yunho had been kind, allowing Changmin to have time to spend with his son. And so Changmin was there for every step of Chanhyung's life, from the first time he gurgled, to the first time he laughed, the first time he rolled over, the first time he said his first words ("Dada"), to his first steps.

The prince had been introduced to Chanhyung almost as soon as Chanhyung was born. Sungjun had only been a year and some months old, and Changmin had been a bit apprehensive when Yunho came to Changmin and Chanhyung's bedroom with his own energetic son in his arms.

"Sungjun, meet your Mihwa," said Yunho, putting him down on the floor.

"Where?" asked Sungjun curiously.

Changmin sighed, realizing that he would have little say in the matter. "You have to be very gentle," warned Changmin. Changmin sat down to show Sungjun his infant son. Sungjun widened his eyes and gasped as he looked at the baby.

"Baby," Sungjun said, delighted.

"Yes, he's a baby, and your Mihwa," said Yunho, patting his son's head.

"Mi – hwa," repeated Sungjun. He reached out slowly and carefully to pat Chanhyung's cheek. "Baby."

Changmin watched as Sungjun continued to pat the baby's cheek with an excited smile. And Changmin thought, _well, maybe my son's life would be as happy as mine_.

 

 

Sungjun and Chanhyung actually always got along quite well.

Of course, Sungjun was a prince and Chanhyung just a glorified slave, so they didn't exactly have the same things. In fact, Changmin was always a bit unhappy about the whole thing, even though he would never dare to tell Yunho.

The first and one of the only times Changmin got angry was when Sungjun was about two and Chanhyung had just had his first birthday. Changmin had sewn his son a small stuffed bunny out of some leftover fabric, and it had become Chanhyung's first and only toy. Chanhyung was sitting on the floor with one of the bunny's ears in his mouth, chewing and drooling happily, when Sungjun snatched the toy from Chanhyung's hands.

Chanhyung's face immediately scrunched up and he began to cry, which annoyed Changmin; Sungjun was certainly old enough to know that what he did was wrong.

"No!" snapped Changmin, snatching the toy away from Sungjun and putting it back into Chanhyung's arms. "No, bad boy!"

Sungjun, startled by the loud noise and Changmin's stern tone, began to cry. Changmin paid no heed and picked up Chanhyung in his arms and turned to leave the room when he realized that Yunho was standing at the door, watching them all along.

"Changmin," said Yunho, clearly shocked.

"He took Chanhyung's only toy," explained Changmin.

"Changmin, Sungjun is – Changmin, Chanhyung is Sungjun's Mihwa," said Yunho incredulously.

Changmin felt a surge of hot anger in his chest that he had rarely felt before. "Oh right, _Your Majesty_ , I forgot that my son existed for the sole reason of pleasing yours," he retorted. He pried the toy away from his son's hands and shoved the toy into Yunho's chest. "You know what? Here. Take it. Give it to your son. He can put it with the hundreds of other toys he has."

Chanhyung began to cry again, and Changmin and held him tighter.

"Don't do this," said Yunho through gritted teeth. "You know that's not what I meant."

"It's exactly what you meant," said Changmin, shaking with anger. "Chanhyung is just your son's slave to you. _My baby boy_ exists just to please your son."

Chanhyung was crying too loudly for Yunho's next words to be heard, and so Changmin just left the room, whispering into his son's ear to try to calm him down.

 

 

Changmin stormed into his own bedroom and finally got Chanhyung to stop crying. As time passed in Changmin's bedroom with his son in his arms, though, Changmin began to realize that Yunho must be really angry, because he didn't come after Changmin.

And then all the training that Changmin went through came flooding back, and so right after putting his son to sleep that night, Changmin made his way to Yunho's bedroom.

Yunho hadn't yet arrived in the bedroom, so Changmin carefully knelt in the middle of the room, hands folded behind his back and head hung in submission.

Although proper protocol, Changmin had never done this for anything besides play.

Yunho has never gotten angry at Changmin. They sometimes played in the bedroom with a paddle or a cane, but it was always playful, the sessions being filled with giggles and shocked gasps from both of them when Yunho hit harder than he meant to.

Yunho was always on Changmin's side -- at least until now.

Yunho stepped inside a few minutes later, and Changmin kept his eyes trained to the floor. He soon saw Yunho's feet stop in front of him. And then Yunho tossed something on the floor on front of Changmin -- the stuffed doll.

Changmin lowered his head a bit more.

"Setting a good example for our children, aren't we?" whispered Yunho. "The Mihwa throwing tantrums at the King."

Yunho leaned down and cupped Changmin's chin, forcing his head up. "You are a slave whose only purpose is to serve the Royal Family. Don't ever forget that."

Changmin remained silent as the words sliced through his chest. Yunho had said those words before, but it was only ever during play, and Changmin never took them to heart. But today was all different.

For the first time since they were children, Changmin hated his father for giving birth to him, hated his father for being born a Mihwa.

Hated his dead father for making him a Mihwa.

Changmin's hands balled into fists as he did his best not to cry.

"Strip and get on the bed," ordered Yunho.

Changmin did as he was told, silently, and thinking to himself over and over, _This is for Chanhyung, this is for my son that I owe everything to_.

Soon Changmin was lying face down on the bed, naked, feeling smaller and more sorrowful than ever.

As soon as he had his face buried in the pillow, the tears began to flow, even before Yunho approached with the cane.

Changmin bit down on his lip hard and stayed silent as Yunho began the punishment, each hit sending a flood of pain over him. As lenient as Yunho had been, Changmin still had undergone years and years of cruel and harsh training -- the same training that he would have to force upon his own son.

Changmin counted to eight before he let out a breath of misery at the thought, but it ended up coming out as a wet sob that he couldn't quite control as Yunho landed his next strike.

Changmin bit down harder and steeled himself again for the next blow, squeezing out another tear -- but it didn't come.

Instead, he heard Yunho's voice.

"...Changmin?"

He felt something on his upper back, which was so unexpected that it made Changmin flinch. The touch disappeared, and Changmin realized a bit later that it had been Yunho's hand.

"Changmin, are -- are you crying?"

He heard a thud over the carpet as Yunho dropped the cane onto the floor and rushed to Changmin's side urgently.

"Changmin, are you -- are you upset? I -- Changmin!"

Yunho grabbed onto Changmin's back and helped him up. Finally seeing the tears streaking down Changmin's cheeks, he gasped. "Changmin, you know you're allowed to stop me!"

"I'm not," said Changmin through his tears. "I'm not allowed, I'm just -- I'm just your slave, I can't -- and I -- I forgot --"

"Changmin, this was just play, I --"

Changmin's heart dropped.

_Play._

This had been play for Jung Yunho.

But this felt different, this was different, because Yunho was really angry, _Changmin_ was really angry --

"I just wanted my son to be happy," choked out Changmin through his sobs. "I just -- I just -- wanted to be a good dad --"

"I hurt you," whispered Yunho in disbelief and horror. "I... _I_ hurt you."

And the two of them looked at each other, Changmin still crying and Yunho starting to, and Changmin thought back to when they were children, when he could always count on Yunho to be on his side. He remembered the times they would cuddle together on the bed, and when Yunho would keep his father from scolding him. Then he remembered the tender caresses and the soft kisses as they grew up, and the warmth and the love they shared as they grew up even more. He would never, ever have thought Yunho would want to hurt him, because they treasured each other more than anything and they loved each other more than anyone. As another tear rolled down his cheek, because Yunho _did_ hurt him and had just reduced him down to a slave that he was, intended or not – realizing that something was obviously terribly wrong with their relationship, Changmin found himself thinking, _what happened to us?_

"I didn't mean to make you upset, baby, I'm so sorry," said Yunho, trying to embrace Changmin in his arms. "What -- What should I do, Changmin? Tell me what you want."

_Tell me what you want._

And in all the pain and misery, all Changmin could think of in his head was _Chanhyung, Chanhyung, Chanhyung..._

"I want -- I want to p-put on my clothes a-and sleep with m-my son," said Changmin, trying to control his breaths.

Yunho looked broken as he distanced himself from Changmin.

"Okay," Yunho whispered.

Changmin got up and quickly gathered up his clothes from the floor. He got dressed faster than he ever had, and almost ran to the door.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Yunho, but still, all Changmin could think about was his son -- the son he loved so much that he would have to enforce the same cruel fate on, the son he loved so much who would no doubt end up hating him just like he hated his own father.

More tears fell as Changmin ran out of Yunho's bedroom into his own. Once there, he picked up his son from his crib, still crying, and even though he was sleeping, he hugged his son close, waking him.

 "I'm sorry," sobbed Changmin. "I'm sorry, Chanhyung, please forgive me, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Chanhyung just clung to Changmin, and Changmin spent all night crying and apologizing to his baby son for everything that was to come in his life.

 

 

It took some time, but eventually, Changmin and Yunho's relationship healed.

Yunho continued to pamper Changmin and his son, and the words of love never stopped between them, so much so that Changmin felt silly for doubting Yunho, ever.

Yunho loved Chanhyung as if he were his own son, and still loved Changmin the same.

And of course, Changmin loved him back.

Changmin's love for Chanhyung only ever grew. Chanhyung had Changmin's large, shining, curious eyes, and a head of curly hair and a beautiful smile that could light up Changmin's day no matter how difficult his day was. Chanhyung grew to be a bright and happy little boy, for which Changmin was thankful. Chanhyung was chatty, always having hundreds of stories to tell Changmin before tiring himself out and finally falling asleep in the bedroom he shared with Changmin – but never before giving his dad a hug and a kiss goodnight.

But as the laws dictated, Changmin had to give Chanhyung away to Sungjun as soon as Chanhyung turned five years old, which was much too soon in his mind.

Changmin was still Chanhyung's father, but no longer his caregiver. Changmin's role in Chanhyung's life was reduced to being his teacher at night to be the best Mihwa he possibly could.

There was no more story time before they slept, there was no more sitting on Changmin's lap and reading stories and playing little games together, and there were no more kisses goodnight. Chanhyung had been given his own bedroom, because Sungjun hadn't wanted to share his room with Chanhyung just yet, and Changmin wasn't allowed to tuck Chanhyung into bed anymore.

He would never forget Chanhyung crying harder than he ever had the night they saw each other for lessons after they spent their first night apart, and Changmin had whispered to him, his own eyes welling up with tears, "It absolutely shatters my heart when you cry, baby."

Chanhyung had stopped crying eventually, and after that night, he never cried again, for any reason, for which Changmin was grateful.

Yunho raised Sungjun well. Yunho had taught Sungjun to treat Changmin like his own father, and he didn't allow Changmin to bow to Sungjun and had Changmin call Sungjun by his name for that reason. With Sungjun's respect for Changmin came respect for Chanhyung, and so Changmin watched the two of them grow up side by side, each taking care of the other in their own way.

Changmin could see, very soon, there was an element of attachment between them.

But love... that was different.

 

 

Sungjun and Chanhyung did not ever love each other.

While slaves, Mihwa or not, were of course not allowed to eat at the same table as royalty, Yunho had always, _always_ dismissed his other servants when it came time for meals so that he was alone with Changmin in the room. Then he would feed Changmin from his own utensils so that Changmin wouldn't have to eat gruel with the other slaves, often getting more of the delicious food in Changmin than in himself.

For Sungjun and Chanhyung, Changmin knew that wasn't the case. While Sungjun did make sure that Chanhyung didn't have to eat with the rest of the slaves in the palace, he never let Chanhyung sit at the table with him, and never let him eat with him, either. Instead, Sungjun often ordered for Chanhyung to have his own table after he was finished with his own meal. While the food was better than one would typically expect for a slave, it was certainly not the same as a royal table.

It was obvious also when Chanhyung finally began to sleep in the same room as the prince, when Chanhyung turned seven. Chanhyung's bedroom was taken away and he was given a small space in the prince's room for him to roll out a few blankets to sleep.

The room was arranged differently, because when Changmin was a child and wasn't blatantly sharing a bed with Yunho like he was now, Yunho had Changmin place his bedding right next to his bed so that Changmin could easily roll in and out of Yunho's bed and into his own bedding. Sungjun was different because he preferred having Chanhyung sleep in a far corner of the room so that if he laid down, he wouldn't be able to see his Mihwa from where he was.

What was also different was that while Changmin's father frequently caught Yunho and Changmin sleep together on Yunho's bed, the same could not be said for Sungjun and Chanhyung. Every single morning, Changmin would walk into the prince's room to find his son curled up on the cotton bedding on the floor while Sungjun slept in his own bed.

Changmin never, ever caught his own son in the prince's bed.

So one night, when Chanhyung came into Changmin's room for his nightly lessons, Changmin, for the first time in what felt like ages, opened his arms to his young son.

"Chanhyung," whispered Changmin. "Come here."

Chanhyung lit up for the first time in a very long time, and Changmin hugged his son tight to his heart as he fell into his embrace.

"Missed you, Daddy," whispered Chanhyung, and even though they saw each other every night, Changmin understood.

"Missed you too, baby," replied Changmin, and let Chanhyung settle into his lap. "You've grown up so much."

 _Too much, though_ , thought Changmin.

Chanhyung was much too grown up for his age.

"Chanhyung?"

"Yeah?"

"Does Prince Sungjun ever let you sleep in his bed?"

"In… in his bed…?"

"I won't get mad, sweetie," Changmin said with an encouraging smile. "It'll stay between you and me."

Chanhyung shook his head. "No, but he doesn't. The bed's for him."

Changmin swallowed and hugged his son closer. "Aren't you cold at night?"

"I'm getting used to it," Chanhyung said with a smile.

Changmin felt his heart break a little.

"And what if you're having a bad day?" asked Changmin. "Does Prince Sungjun help you?"

Chanhyung froze. "But I'm not allowed to have a bad day."

"Chanhyung," said Changmin, flustered. "Chanhyung, you're human, of course you can have a bad day --"

"Daddy," said Chanhyung, cutting him off. "Daddy, I'm a good Mihwa for Prince Sungjun."

"I know, honey."

Chanhyung was silent, not looking at Changmin for a while, but then he looked up at Changmin.

"I don't do it just for show, like you and the King," whispered Chanhyung.

The words were the last thing Changmin expected from his baby son, and so he didn't have anything to say.

 

 

Yunho let Changmin do anything and everything he wanted -- except when it had to do with Chanhyung. And really, Changmin had to understand, because Yunho had no rights to Chanhyung, and neither did Changmin; Chanhyung was Sungjun's, and Sungjun's alone.

And so, even when Changmin brought the suggestion up to Yunho carefully, Changmin almost knew he wouldn't have much success.

"I'm thinking about having Chanhyung sleep in my bedroom from now on," said Changmin.

Yunho frowned. "Why?"

"Because I'm here with you at night anyway. My bed is empty every night." Yunho still looked lost, so Changmin expanded. "Sungjun never invites Chanhyung up to his bed to sleep, did you know that?"

Yunho was silent for a moment, taking in the information, but then he finally spoke. "Changmin... Changmin, he's not obligated to."

Changmin sighed. "I know. So why not have him sleep in my room?"

"Because Chanhyung should be there for Sungjun if he needs something in the middle of the night."

"Yunho, Sungjun has servants and guards who stand watch all night."

"But I know I can trust Chanhyung always," coaxed Yunho.

Changmin was still clearly unhappy, so Yunho spoke.

"Changmin, I want to help Chanhyung, I really do," said Yunho quietly. "But I cannot tell Sungjun what to do with Chanhyung. Changmin --"

He waited until Changmin looked up into his eyes.

"Changmin, we are the ones breaking the rules. Our sons -- Changmin, our sons are doing it the way it's supposed to be done. I can't fault Sungjun when he's doing things exactly as he's been taught."

 "I'm not telling you to fault Sungjun, I'm just –"

"I can't tell him what to do regarding Chanhyung, and _neither can you_ ," emphasized Yunho as Changmin opened his mouth again. "I know it's hard. I love Chanhyung too."

 _Then how can you just sit there and watch?_ was on the tip of Changmin's tongue, but he held his silence and elected to bow instead.

 

 

They grew taller.

They grew up.

And in all that time, the boys still didn't love each other.

That became even more apparent because when Chanhyung turned thirteen, a guard caught Chanhyung kissing a servant girl who worked in the kitchens. It had become a big scandal, and the servant girl ended up being dismissed from the palace, and Chanhyung was left for Sungjun to punish.

Changmin had to admit, Chanhyung had committed quite a large infraction. Not only had he been emotionally unfaithful to Sungjun, he had also been keeping secrets from the prince, which was certainly unacceptable.

And so Changmin was there when Sungjun had been speaking to Chanhyung before the sentencing. Chanhyung was on his knees and head bowed in front of Sungjun, contrite.

"Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Sungjun.

Chanhyung was silent as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Why are you upset, Chanhyung?" Sungjun had asked, not unkindly. "Did you really like her?"

Chanhyung nodded, and Sungjun sighed as he leaned back on his chair.

"Oh, Chanhyung. I could have arranged for her to be with you if you'd just _told_ me. None of this had to happen."

When Chanhyung still kept silent, Sungjun reached out and wiped the tear from Chanhyung's face. "No more secrets, do you hear me?"

"Yes, Master," whispered Chanhyung, and Sungjun ordered Chanhyung to get cleaned up before the formal sentencing in public.

There must still have been an element of attachment, because the sentence had been minimal for the infraction, with Sungjun just ordering Chanhyung to three strikes of the cane.

In some ways, maybe it was a good thing that they weren't in love.

But in other, no, in most ways, Changmin wished Chanhyung and Sungjun loved each other like Changmin and Yunho loved each other.


	2. Chapter 2

Sungjun grew up to be much like his father: focused, ambitious, and talented. Chanhyung similarly grew up to be much like his own father: responsible, devoted, and quiet.

For Yunho and Changmin, who loved each other and would give their own lives for the other, it was a perfect match.

For Sungjun and Chanhyung, who were, in all actuality, Prince and Mihwa, it wasn't so much.

When Sungjun turned sixteen, Yunho began to give Sungjun more responsibilities than ever before, from leading council meetings to dealing with disputes. But with that, Changmin knew, Chanhyung was busier than Sungjun was. Not only did he have to look after the prince physically, but also doing all of the organization and preparation to make sure that Sungjun's work ran smoothly.

Mihwas were not just pretty slaves to please the eyes of their royal masters, after all – their extensive training and learning was to make as useful as possible in every aspect of their master's life and work.

When the Night of Rites came, Chanhyung was pushed to the limit already, and Changmin knew it.

Sungjun had been asked by Yunho to host a visit from an important guest from China, and this was the first chance that the prince had to truly impress Yunho and also to win over the approval of the people. As a result, Chanhyung had also been under a tremendous amount of pressure to put plans into motion, from making sure that the guest's quarters and meals would be impeccable and to making sure that every important subject would be at the ready to meet with the guest.

The entire ordeal would have been impossible without Chanhyung's hard work, and Chanhyung was working day and night, with and without meals, for days on end.

Changmin had been excusing Chanhyung from his nightly lessons for that reason, but the Night of Rites had to be the night after a Mihwa's fourteenth birthday (which, of course, no one celebrated besides Changmin giving his son a tight hug and whispering "Happy birthday" – even Yunho and Sungjun didn't remember. In fact, the only person who remembered besides Changmin was Kyuhyun, the royal physician who helped birth Chanhyung – he gave Chanhyung a bag of sweets for his birthday every year), and it couldn't be changed.

And so, in the middle of Chanhyung busily running back and forth to prepare for the important visit, the Night of Rites came.

And part of it was undoubtedly Changmin's fault for failing to tell Chanhyung that it was coming. In fact, he had avoided telling Chanhyung about the night altogether, because it had been such an awful experience for himself, and he didn't want to relive it. So he failed to tell his son that he would raped that night under the guise that it would be training for him to be able to please the prince sexually, and that he would have the little dignity he had left stripped from him in a single night.

The night for Changmin had been very different from Chanhyung's, and that was the reason why Changmin survived. Changmin hadn't been warned by his father either, but while Changmin was led into the bedroom like a cattle for slaughter and came out of it broken and crying, he still had Yunho, who loved him and who he loved back, to cuddle him afterwards and to talk to him, and to tell him that it would never happen again and that Changmin would be safe with Yunho. Yunho had given Changmin as long as he needed to recover, and gave him everything and anything that Changmin asked for.

Of course, that wasn't traditional, and Changmin had just been extremely lucky that Yunho loved him.

But knowing that Chanhyung wasn't as fortunate and that Sungjun didn't love Chanhyung, Changmin knew that his son had to be told.

He tried to get a hold of his son multiple times over a few days before the Night of Rites, but Chanhyung was so busy preparing for the visit that they had no block of time long enough for them to have this very difficult conversation. Changmin had called his son to his bedroom only on the night of, and this time, Chanhyung was ordered to be there. Unfortunately, Chanhyung was late to get to Changmin's room, and he sat down after a quick bow.

"Yes, father."

"You're late," said Changmin unnecessarily.

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been trying to get everything sorted out. I still have a lot of work to get through."

Changmin nodded.

"Chanhyung…" began Changmin, not even able to look at Chanhyung in the eye, but he didn't know how to continue.

The silence clearly frustrated Chanhyung, because he spoke.

"Father, can't this wait until after the visit? I'm so busy, I can't –"

"No, Chanhyung, you have to go."

Changmin knew he wasn't making sense.

"Go where? Father, please."

"I'm so sorry," whispered Changmin, his voice breaking. "So, so sorry. We should have talked about this."

"About what?" said Chanhyung with a frown.

Changmin took a deep breath.

"I – Chanhyung, as Mihwa, we –"

Before Changmin could even begin his explanation though, they were interrupted by a knock at the door, and it was Chanhyung who said, "Come in."

Guards stood at the door. Chanhyung was so surprised that he actually stood from where he was sitting. "What is it?" demanded Chanhyung.

"It's time," said one of the guards, and Chanhyung looked so confused and panicked that Changmin already knew that this was going to be bad.

As the guards asked Chanhyung to follow them, and as Chanhyung looked back at Changmin for reassurance, Changmin knew, he knew that what he had to do was stop them, even if it cost him his life.

But he was stupid.

He was stupid, and he was the worst father in existence, because in the moment, he just nodded and blankly watched his son be taken away to be raped.

 

 

Changmin stayed in his room, frozen in the way he was sitting, tears running down his face, for gods knew how long. He had no choice but to remember the horror of the night when it happened, which was awful in itself, but when he imagined his son in the same situation, he was quite literally sick to his stomach.

So he stumbled out of his room, waving away the aid of a servant coming to his side.

"Where did they take Chanhyung," managed Changmin.

"They are in the East Wing," replied the servant, and swallowing to force the vomit back down, Changmin ran as fast as his body would let him to the east wing.

When he was about to enter the wing, though, Changmin was stopped by a couple of guards – the same ones that had come to take Chanhyung.

"Let me through," said Changmin, voice shaking.

"They are not to be disturbed."

"Please, they're – they're –"

"Mihwa," said the guard firmly. "Return to your quarters. We have been given strict orders not to let anyone through, and that includes you."

Changmin stepped back, because as much as he wasn't in his right mind, he knew that the guards were there to follow orders, and Changmin would not override any order that they were given.

But there was someone who could override those orders, and so Changmin turned around and ran; he ran to Yunho's bedroom in panic.

Changmin was the only person that Yunho had given permission to enter his bedroom at any given moment without having to declare himself or ask for permission. Changmin rarely took advantage of it, going through the proper protocol so that they would not raise too many eyebrows, but today, Changmin didn't have time. _Chanhyung_ didn't have time.

So Changmin barged in, stumbling inside and out or breath.

"Yunho," gasped Changmin, face shining with tears. "Please help me, please –"

Yunho was undressed and been in bed already, and evidently had been waiting for Changmin in his side of the bed.

"Changmin?" said Yunho, sitting up with a frown. "What's wrong?"

"Chanhyung. They're – they're – hurting him, please –"

"Who's hurting him?" said Yunho, getting out of bed. "What's going on?"

"It's his Night of Rites, Yunho, please – please help me stop –"

Yunho froze for a moment when he heard the words, looking much like Changmin had when the guards had taken Chanhyung away.

But a few moments later, Yunho came to a different conclusion.

"Changmin, come here," said Yunho, opening his arms.

Changmin shook his head, because Yunho had to go with Changmin, _now_ , to stop the horrors that were happening to Chanhyung. "Yunho, there's no time –"

"Come here, pretty Mihwa," said Yunho, and with the use of the title, Changmin was put in his place, and so he did as he was told.

"Yes, Master," said Changmin ever so slightly impatiently. He went close enough to Yunho for Yunho to take him into his arms.

"Baby… I know. I know it must be hard, but this is all part of it," said Yunho.

Changmin had begun nodding, but then when the meaning of the words registered, Changmin looked up, pushed himself away a bit. "What – What are you saying?"

"Changmin, you went through this, and so did your father, and so did his father," said Yunho. "I know, it's awful, but it's all part of becoming a Mihwa, and Chanhyung has to go through the Rites too, to serve Sungjun."

"You think Chanhyung has to be raped before he can serve Sungjun?" cried Changmin in disbelief. "Yunho, he's already a better Mihwa to Sungjun than I've ever been for you, and –"

"Baby, keep your voice down, there are guards and servants outside and I don't want to have to punish you," said Yunho. "Changmin –"

"Please," begged Changmin. More tears slid down his face as he slid down to his knees. "Master, please. Please, please help my son."

"I can't, Changmin," said Yunho quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Master…"

Changmin had just begun to press his forehead to the floor when Yunho grabbed his wrists and pulled him up. "Changmin, get up. Chanhyung will make it through this, and so will you."

"I love my son," whispered Changmin.

"I know. I love him too, and it hurts me what he's going through," sighed Yunho, trying to settle Changmin into his lap. "But he has to do this. _You_ had to do this. That why I couldn't stop them from hurting you, even back then."

Changmin didn't know how to express the amount of betrayal he felt, but he was sure Chanhyung was feeling much, much more betrayed than he was.

 

 

Changmin had wanted to make his way back to the East Wing to try to help Chanhyung himself if Yunho wouldn't help, but Yunho didn't let Changmin leave his room – probably because he knew that if Changmin left, he would make a scene large enough to stop Chanhyung's Rites, and then Yunho would have no choice but to punish Changmin publicly.

Yunho had to almost physically hold Changmin down the whole time. He made sure that Changmin was there when he sent a servant to the East Wing to inform them as soon as Chanhyung was finished.

It was torturous, being forced to stay in Yunho's room, even if Yunho was cuddling him. So it felt like it was centuries later when the servant returned to say that she had just seen Chanhyung leave the East Wing.

Changmin barely even waited for the servant to finish her report before ripping away from Yunho's arms and running to Chanhyung, even with Yunho calling his name from behind him.

Changmin choked up again when he found his son limping aimlessly from the East Wing. They clearly hadn't even had the decency to make sure Chanhyung was fully clothed before pushing him out of the room, because Chanhyung was holding his outer robes around his sagged shoulders still as he trudged on slowly tiredly.

Chanhyung didn't even notice Changmin coming to his side until Changmin was very near.

"Chanhyung," choked out Changmin.

Chanhyung stopped in his tracks and looked up at Changmin, slowly.

"D-Dad," he whispered blankly. "I – I… They…"

The sparkle in Chanhyung's eyes were completely gone to be replaced by blank, dark eyes that Changmin had never seen on his son. Chanhyung was looking at Changmin, but so blankly that he seemed to almost look right through Changmin.

"Chanhyung," said Changmin, his heart breaking. "I'm so sorry."

Chanhyung looked away, and Changmin could only imagine how betrayed his son must be feeling. Changmin took off his own outer robe and just had enough time to wrap it around his son before Yunho arrived. Neither Changmin nor Chanhyung had enough wits to even acknowledge Yunho, never mind bow to him.

"Let's get you to bed," managed Changmin. He had begun to walk his son to his bedroom, but Chanhyung stopped only a few seconds later with a shudder.

"D…Dad, I… I think I need a bath."

"Oh, honey," sighed Changmin, the hair on his own skin raising with how much horror Chanhyung must have gone through.

"Use my bathhouse," offered Yunho, but Chanhyung shook his head.

"N-No, I'll be fine in my father's – f-father's –"

He then seemed to finally register that the King was next to him, and after looking at Yunho's face in fear for a few seconds, he dropped to the ground on his knees and bowed his head. "Y-Your Majesty –"

"Chanhyung, it's okay, you don't have to," said Yunho, patting Chanhyung's head. "Let's get you somewhere comfortable – and warm –"

Chanhyung was shaking. Changmin had no choice but to pick up his son in his arms and carry him as fast as he could to his bedroom, Yunho following close behind.

Once they reached Changmin's bedroom, Yunho ordered for servants to bring hot bathwater into the room while Changmin busied himself, setting up a screen for Chanhyung to bathe behind. Soon, the servants were carrying a small tub of steaming bathwater into Changmin's room, and Changmin helped his son into the bath.

Chanhyung stayed in the bath until the water became cold and he was reasonably settled again.

"Are you ready to come out?" asked Changmin. Chanhyung swallowed and nodded, and Changmin held out a towel for his son to step into.

Changmin helped dress Chanhyung in comfortable robes while Yunho turned down the bed for him. They put the exhausted Chanhyung into bed, and once in bed, Chanhyung finally burst into tears, and seeing that, new tears slid down Changmin's face too; Changmin hadn't seen Chanhyung cry since he was a little boy, so it was even more heartbreaking for Changmin.

"Oh, Chanhyung," said Yunho with a sigh. He stroked Chanhyung's forehead. "I remember when you were just a baby," whispered Yunho. "You've grown up so much. You've become a fine young man, Chanhyung. So strong and so brave. I'm so, so sorry. I… I can't even express how sorry I am that you and your family have to go through this because of mine. It's not fair, and I know that. It's not fair that you have to go through all of this."

Changmin wiped the tears from Chanhyung's face with his palm and looked at Yunho, whose presence, he thought, was not helpful at the moment.

"Go to bed, Yunho," said Changmin quietly. "I'll stay here with Chanhyung tonight."

Yunho hesitated a bit before nodded.

"You need rest too," said Yunho.

"I'll be fine. Go to bed."

Yunho nodded and swept Chanhyung's hair from his forehead.

"Take as long as you need to recover, Chanhyung," said Yunho quietly. "I'm so… so sorry." Chanhyung closed his eyes in thanks.

 

 

Chanhyung miraculously did fall asleep, although it did take hours, but Changmin didn't sleep a wink that night, just sitting in bed beside Chanhyung.

This should really have been Sungjun's job, but it was much too cruel to leave Chanhyung to be neglected the whole night, knowing that Sungjun didn’t love Chanhyung. So damn the consequences that might come his way, Changmin was going to take care of his baby son.

Chanhyung was still sleeping when the sun rose, and as much as Changmin wanted to spend the day with Chanhyung as well, he had duties to attend to in the morning.

So Changmin stroked his son's head lovingly, and when his son opened his eyes a slit, he whispered to him. "Daddy's gotta go to work," he said. "I'll have the servant bring you breakfast, and you can stay in bed today."

Changmin paused, watching his son. "Will you be okay?"

"Wish you'd stay," whispered Chanhyung hoarsely. Changmin stroked his head.

"I'll see if I can come back soon, sweetie."

Chanhyung nodded, and Changmin gave him a kiss on his cheek before tucking Chanhyung in again and reluctantly leaving the room.

 

 

Changmin was restless the entire morning after asking Yunho to send Chanhyung a breakfast table of his own, which Yunho chose to ignore. Yunho was expecting a visitor from China to discuss trade relations, and Changmin was helping Yunho get ready. Yunho hoped that things would go well, and it would be a miracle if they agreed to Yunho's terms, but he was not expectant in the slightest, and Yunho knew that the visitor was only here to present his own terms of the agreement. Knowing that, Yunho had given Sungjun responsibility over the visit. While Yunho hoped that Sungjun would do well, if he didn't, there would be very few consequences. If it was disastrous, it would probably involve Yunho making a trip to China himself to mediate, however, nothing would be unfixable.

Yunho did not plan on meeting with the visitor again after the greeting, but Changmin still helped Yunho get dressed in the official royal robes for the greeting in his bedroom after the breakfast. Changmin had done this countless times and with all his training and experience, he should have been able to do this with his eyes closed – however, he was so distracted today that he made a number of mistakes from tying the knots the wrong way to trying to place ornaments on the wrong side of the robe. Eventually, he ended up pricking Yunho's arm with the pin he was holding, actually drawing blood.

"Oh… Oops…" said Changmin, reaching for a hand cloth. "Sorry, Yunho."

Yunho found himself losing patience with his Mihwa; if this had been anyone else, _anyone else_ , they would have thrown themselves on the floor, begging for Yunho to spare their life. But Yunho reeled back.

"Focus, Changmin," hissed Yunho.

"I'm trying," shot back Changmin while he dabbed at the wound. "I said I was sorry."

"Changmin –" warned Yunho, and Changmin looked up at Yunho's face for a split second, evidently realizing that he'd been close to crossing the line, even for Yunho.

"I'm sorry, Master," said Changmin, and he leaned forward to kiss Yunho on the lips, which, just by itself, made Yunho's head spin.

"Enough with your cheek," managed Yunho. "Just focus for the morning, yes? I promised to dismiss you in the afternoon."

"Yes, Master."

Yunho sighed.

He hated himself for loving Changmin, he really did.

 

 

The welcome for the visit was clunky, and Yunho wondered what exactly happened. He found that while most of the subjects were there, the decorations were only halfway completed, and the feast began almost an hour late. Yunho had truly believed that his son would be capable, so this was a surprise to him.

"What happened, Sungjun?" asked Yunho once the ceremony was over and he was able to speak to his son alone. His son looked upset, no, _furious_ , and Yunho wanted to make sure that Sungjun was still up for this.

"I –" said Sungjun, looking like he had something to say, but then he let out the breath. "I thought I had it all organized. I'm not sure what went wrong."

Yunho looked into his son's eyes.

"Are you going to be okay to lead the rest of the visit? I can take over if you aren't ready, Sungjun."

"No!" said Sungjun quickly and forcefully. "No, I can do it, father."

"All right. But don't push yourself too hard," said Yunho genuinely. Sungjun nodded, and Yunho gave his son a pat on the head before dismissing him.

 

 

Yunho sent Changmin to Sungjun fill in some of the gaping holes in Sungjun's plans, and the rest of the morning went quite smoothly. Changmin, being experienced, was also able to iron out the plans in quite a short amount of time as well, so that Sungjun would be able to complete the rest of the day with no issues. Sungjun looked upset as he sent Changmin back to Yunho, but Changmin didn't think much of it.

"How did it go?" asked Yunho once they were alone.

"It was fine," said Changmin quickly. "Sungjun had everything pretty well organized, and I just made sure everything was up and running. It's not bad for his first event."

"Good," said Yunho with a sigh of relief. "I think he'll be just fine."

Changmin nodded. "Yunho, may I leave now?" asked Changmin.

Yunho stared. "What?"

"I need to go and take care of Chanhyung now. You said you would dismiss me early today."

"Changmin, it's midday. You still have to scribe the Cabinet meeting."

"You can use a real scribe."

"You know I can't trust anyone else after what happened last time, with the man forging the notes."

"You banished the man from the city, remember?" retorted Changmin. "You have a new scribe, one that you've been paying to do absolutely nothing since he was hired."

"Changmin –" said Yunho, and Changmin had rarely seen Yunho be so annoyed. "Do you realize that I could have your head for what you're doing right now? That I could have put you to death ten different times today for how you've been acting?"

It was one thing to be put in his place, but another completely for Yunho to threaten him with death. Changmin closed his mouth.

"I love you, and you know that I would never hurt you. Never," said Yunho, looking into Changmin's eyes. "I also know that today's not an easy day for you. But you are my Mihwa, and I expect you to get your work done and be professional while I need you."

Changmin swallowed.

"Please behave," begged Yunho.

"Yes, Master," said Changmin automatically.

He could tell that Yunho still wasn't happy as he led Changmin out of the room for the Cabinet meeting.

 

 

Changmin was sitting at Yunho's feet at the Cabinet meeting that afternoon, scribing dutifully, when a servant rushed towards and whispered into his ear – "Your son's being beaten in the prince's courtyard right now, and it looks serious, Mihwa."

Changmin immediately felt blood drain from his face.

"F-For what," stuttered Changmin, so shocked that he couldn't keep his voice quite down. Yunho and a few Cabinet members turned their heads to look at Changmin.

"He is angry that Chanhyung didn't finish his work last night before retiring. He figures that's why the Welcome today was so disorganized."

Changmin's fingers felt numb as the servant retreated, and he reached for the skirt of Yunho's robes. _Oh gods._

"What now, Changmin?" whispered the King with a frown.

The whole Cabinet was staring now.

"I – I –" stuttered Changmin, gripping Yunho's robe. "It's – It's Chanhyung –"

Yunho clenched his teeth and tugged his robe out of Changmin's hands.

"Shim Changmin, just leave," Yunho whispered. "Leave and do what you want. You're distracting the Cabinet."

When Changmin looked up at Yunho for confirmation – because whether or not Yunho actually meant this, Changmin was going to leave to take care of his son – Yunho glared.

"Get out," whispered Yunho icily. "That's what you want, isn't it? Just get out if you're going to act like a child."

It was obvious that Yunho really expected Changmin to beg for forgiveness on his knees and stay for the rest of the meeting, but Changmin was not going to take this dismissal lightly – not when Chanhyung was getting hurt, right now. So he actually got to his feet, bowed, and walked out on his shaky legs.

Changmin ran to Sungjun's courts, holding up his robes so that he could run faster.

It wasn't long until Changmin heard it – the sickening cracks of whip on flesh, and the sobbing of his son.

Once he got past the guards, he finally saw everything – Sungjun sitting on the chair on a pedestal and the servants crowding around a straw mat on the ground to watch as a guard brought down his whip on – Changmin's heart dropped – his baby son, kneeling on the mat with his head down, unclothed from waist up and curling his body in on himself. Blood covered his entire back, but still, the guard still had no sign of stopping –

Changmin's head was spinning, and he saw his vision fog over. He had to bite down on his cheek and curl his numb hands into fists not to pass out. He pushed past the crowd into Sungjun's view.

"P-Prince Sungjun," said Changmin, shaking his head. "What are you – _What are you doing?_ "

The guard with the whip hesitated at Changmin's interruption, stopping the blows. Changmin bent down in the meanwhile towards his son, at his tear-streaked face and his mangled back. Changmin felt dizzy again as Chanhyung reached out weakly with his bound hands at Changmin.

Changmin was forbidden from bowing to Sungjun, but nothing mattered but Chanhyung. So Changmin knelt next to his son and touched his forehead to the floor.

"Your Highness, please have mercy, please –"

"Get out!" snapped Sungjun. "Out!"

Changmin raised his head to look at Sungjun right in the eye – the same child that Changmin helped raise, the one that he watched grow up. Changmin never knew that he would be begging to him on his knees.

Changmin didn't know what he was more upset about: the fact that his son was so hurt or the fact that it was Yunho's son who was causing the pain.

"Please have mercy on my son," whispered Changmin genuinely, tears filling his eyes. "Please. I beg you, Your Highness. Please have mercy."

It seemed to hit Sungjun, because Changmin had never, ever called Sungjun 'Your Highness' before, and the only person he's ever seen Changmin kneel to was Yunho.

Sungjun and Changmin just looked into each other's eyes, eventually Changmin bowing his head in submission. Sungjun finally spoke.

"Get up and take your son away," he ordered quietly.

Changmin had never moved so quickly in his life as he maneuvered to get his son on his back and out of the Prince's court.

"D-Dad…" Chanhyung let out a pained moan, and Changmin turned his head.

"You're going to be okay, honey," said Changmin urgently. "You're going to be okay."

Chanhyung let out another sob as the servant that had informed Changmin of the incident approached them again just outside Prince's court, looking terrified.

"Run and call for Kyuhyun. He's a physician here at the palace," said Changmin.

"But Mihwa –"

" _Please_. Quickly."

The servant ran off, and so did Changmin, up to his own bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

It was remarkably chilling how silent Chanhyung was when they arrived in Changmin's bedroom; in fact, he was so silent that Changmin thought his son had passed out. As it turned out, Chanhyung had just been crying silently, hands balled into tight fists to try to manage the pain.

Changmin didn't even know how to explain to his son what had just happened, and he was still shocked over how heartless Sungjun had been. He didn't know what to do except to lay his son down on the bed, hold his hand, stroke his head, and wait for Kyuhyun to arrive.

He did soon, rushing in with a bag of his medicine, and as soon as he saw Chanhyung, his face fell.

"Oh, Chanhyung," sighed Kyuhyun sadly. Kyuhyun put his bag down and asked for a basin of clean water, which Changmin quickly complied to.

Washing away the matted blood on Chanhyung's back was a terrible task, because Chanhyung was in so much pain when they so much as touched his back with a rag. He didn't scream or cry out, but he shook so hard that he was almost shaking the whole bed. Kyuhyun ended up pressing down some of his herbs before his back was completely clean to take away some of the pain. Eventually, they were able to get Chanhyung clean and wrapped up in bandages. In the long process, Chanhyung's tears didn't stop.

Kyuhyun stroked Chanhyung's head. "I'll be back tomorrow to change the bandages, all right?"

"You don't have to," whispered Chanhyung so quietly that if Changmin hadn't seen his lips move, he would have missed it. More tears streaked down Chanhyung's face. "You don't have to waste your time on me."

Changmin felt his heart shatter. "Chanhyung, don't say that," he said. "You're going to heal and – and –"

And what? And serve?

Changmin swallowed. "And everything's going to be okay."

Changmin and Chanhyung both knew that Changmin had no business saying that, because Changmin was as powerless and Chanhyung – but Chanhyung was kind and he said nothing, just closed his eyes and let out some more tears.

 

 

Chanhyung refused his supper. He wouldn't even open his eyes, and so Changmin refused his supper as well.

It wasn't until bedtime that either of their masters made any communication at all, the first one being from Prince Sungjun himself through a servant, asking how Chanhyung was doing.

An angry "Not good," was the simple two-word answer that Changmin gave the servant to relay.

Yunho came in afterwards and after fussing over Chanhyung a bit – which Changmin questioned the geniality of, honestly – called Changmin into a private room so that they could talk alone.

"I didn't realize that this was what you heard about," said Yunho once they were both seated.

Changmin didn't answer. Perhaps it was because of how heartbroken Changmin was for his son, but Yunho was giving him none of the warm soft feelings that he always did anymore.

"I'm sorry. I just… I mean, I knew that Sungjun was upset, but I didn't know that he would do this."

"You owe the apology to Chanhyung, not to me," said Changmin.

Yunho sighed. "Fine," he said. "But Changmin… Changmin, listen to me," said Yunho quietly. "I heard that you… that you stopped it."

Changmin looked up, unsure of where Yunho was going. "I begged for him to stop it. He decided to have mercy on us."

"Yes, I heard that part too," sighed Yunho. "Changmin… Changmin, just… you just have to remember… Even I, as King, can't – or, rather, shouldn't – control what Sungjun does with his Mihwa. It's not my jurisdiction, and it's not yours, either. Part of how Sungjun will learn the importance of his Mihwa is by making mistakes like this one and realizing how difficult his job is without Chanhyung. It'll be a hard lesson for him, trying to carry out the rest of the visit without –"

But Changmin didn't understand, because –

"But why must my son suffer like this just for your son to learn a lesson, Yunho?" asked Changmin, cutting him off. "What makes you and your son so special that your son can treat my beautiful son this way? Why, Yunho?"

"Changmin…"

"You seem to think your blood is made of gold while Chanhyung and mine is made of mud," said Changmin. "But did you see? Your blood was red when I pricked you this morning, and if you had bothered to take a look at his back, Yunho, you would have seen that so is Chanhyung's. In the end, Yunho, all of us are just – we're all just human."

"I know," said Yunho quietly. "I wouldn't love you as much as I do if I thought anything else."

"Do you even really love me?" asked Changmin, disappointment in Yunho flooding in.

"What? Of course I love –"

"Yunho…" said Changmin quietly. Yunho stopped talking and looked at Changmin. "Do you think it's possible to love more than one person at once?"

Yunho took a few moments to process what Changmin was saying, then he frowned. "What do you mean? Why would you ask something like that?"

"Yunho –" said Changmin. He hesitated. "Yunho, do you love me?"

"Yes," said Yunho without missing a single beat. "Yes, I love you, Changmin."

"Do you love your son?"

Yunho drew away. "What are you trying to say?"

Changmin continued. "You love your son, do you not?"

"Of course I love my son."

"If I said I didn't love your son," said Changmin. He looked straight at Yunho. "Would you still love me?"

"Changmin."

"I don't love your son, Yunho," said Changmin quietly. "I don't love your son because he hurts mine. And I really, really love my son."

Yunho just stared at Changmin.

"And you're doing nothing to stop it either," whispered Changmin. "Yunho… Yunho, _I really love my son_."

Yunho froze. "What are you saying," he whispered in shock and horror. "Shim Changmin, what are you saying?"

"Nothing," said Changmin quietly. "I just asked if you thought you could love more than one person at once."

"Yes," said Yunho assertively, almost angrily. "Yes. I love you and I love my son. I love _your_ son. I love more than one person at once. And I know you love your son and you also love me. And I hope that you'll get to love my son too."

At this, Changmin shook his head.

"You don't love my son," said Changmin. "Please don't pretend that you do. It's – It's _disgusting_."

Hurt clouded over Yunho's face.

"How can you say that?" demanded Yunho. "How, Changmin, I love Chanhyung as much as you do –"

"You don't love him as much as I do. You barely even care about him."

"Changmin –"

"I've never loved anyone like I love my son." Changmin looked right at Yunho's eyes. "Not even you."

Changmin could almost see Yunho's heart shattering before his eyes, but he barely even cared.

If anything, Yunho deserved that.

 

 

Chanhyung kept his eyes closed and lay in bed all night. He barely even moved, and Changmin was scared that Chanhyung would never get better. He wasn't sleeping, Changmin knew, because he would let out an occasional sniffle and he was still crying.

Kyuhyun came to change Chanhyung's bandages the next day, and Chanhyung still hadn't eaten or said anything. So Changmin was surprised when Kyuhyun said, "Get up for me, sweetie," and Chanhyung responded by sitting up, albeit tiredly.

"How are you feeling?" sighed Kyuhyun as he undid the dressing.

Chanhyung was silent for a long time before answering with a short, hoarse, "Fine."

Changmin knew that Chanhyung wasn't fine, because when Kyuhyun asked, "Do you feel like eating anything?" Chanhyung just shook his head ever so slightly.

Kyuhyun finished up the bandaging and gave Chanhyung a heartfelt hug before turning to Changmin. "Changmin, may I get a word with you?" said Kyuhyun.

Changmin stood and followed Kyuhyun just outside, expecting to have the talk in the hallway. "What is it?" asked Changmin.

"Not here," said Kyuhyun quietly. He proceeded to lead Changmin down a small, narrow, dark hallway that he'd never been to before, despite living in these wings for years and years, and he was sure that most of the servants probably never set foot here, either. They eventually reached a little, dark, dusty room that Changmin didn't even know existed. Kyuhyun closed the door behind them.

"It's the palace, you never know who might overhear," said Kyuhyun quietly. "I am risking my life to talk to you about this, Changmin." Once they had bolted the door, Kyuhyun spoke so quietly that even Changmin had to strain to hear him.

"Changmin, as a physician, I tend over not just the royal family and the subjects, but also the servants and the slaves," whispered Kyuhyun. "One of the things that I see most often are whipped slaves, and while I see it on almost a daily basis, it is something that I can never quite get used to. It's barbaric and inhumane."

Changmin nodded slowly.

"So… So for the past few years, Changmin, I… I've been helping out some of the slaves at the palace… _escape_ _their fate_."

Changmin's eyes widened. He wanted to say something, but he was so shocked that no sound came out from his throat.

"Changmin, you are Chanhyung's father, so I'm sure you're even more heartbroken," whispered Kyuhyun. "But I'm quite attached to Chanhyung myself, and I wish he didn't have to suffer."

He looked at Changmin. "It is likely that Prince Sungjun will become older and wiser, and that he will one day start to treasure Chanhyung and that he will no longer make mistakes such as this," he whispered. "But I worry about how much suffering Chanhyung may have to go through in the meantime."

Changmin looked up at Kyuhyun. "W-What are you trying to say," said Changmin in a shaky voice.

"If you or Chanhyung… ever want… help, Changmin, so that the two of you don't have to live as slaves anymore," said Kyuhyun, looking right into Changmin's eyes, "I will always be here."

"Help to – Help to –" managed Changmin.

This was unfathomable, what Kyuhyun was suggesting; Changmin had never even imagined a life without Yunho, and he didn't even know if he could _live_ without Yunho. Yunho was almost a part of him, and a very, very, _very_ necessary part at that.

" _Shhh_ ," hissed Kyuhyun. "Not so loud. You two are possibly the most well-known slaves in the entire country, so it will not be easy, but I have a trusted group of friends who have been helping me, and they will be able to help you escape safely as well. _If_ you ever want."

"Kyuhyun – I –"

"Even if you refuse now, Changmin, once Chanhyung heals, I am going to offer him that as well," whispered Kyuhyun. "But I just thought that you may want to stay together, because once – _if_ – Chanhyung chooses to leave, you are probably never going to see him again."

Changmin swallowed. He had never, ever thought about running away from the palace before, not with Yunho here.

"I – I can't just leave him," whispered Changmin.

Kyuhyun didn't quite understand. "I'm saying that you and Chanhyung can leave together," said Kyuhyun. "I know it isn't an easy decision to make. I know you and the King have a bond. But your son and Prince Sungjun – they don't, Changmin."

"I… I know."

"I'm not asking you to do anything," said Kyuhyun quietly. "I'm not suggesting anything, either. What I am saying is, should you ever need my help, I will be here to help you."

"Yes… yes. Thank… Thank you, Kyuhyun."

"Don't mention this conversation to anyone, Changmin," said Kyuhyun meaningfully. "I confided in you because I believe in you not to betray my trust."

"Yes, of – of course."

Kyuhyun gave a curt nod before stepping out of the room, saying loudly as if nothing happened, "No, Changmin, I don't think this small space would be fit for Chanhyung. You should ask the Prince if he would be so kind to give Chanhyung another room."

 

 

Chanhyung refused to eat the next morning, too, and the afternoon, and the evening. Kyuhyun came by, but he acted completely normally, as if nothing had happened. He was so natural that Changmin even wondered whether he had dreamt the whole thing.

Changmin was becoming worried now, and so was Kyuhyun. The word was obviously going around that Chanhyung was refusing food, because the morning after that, Yunho came by again.

For the first time, Chanhyung stayed lying down after seeing the King and didn't stand to bow to him. Fortunately, Yunho wasn't bothered.

"I heard you're not eating anything," said Yunho, patting the top of Chanhyung's head. Changmin held back the urge to viciously knock Yunho's hand away from his son.

"I'm not hungry," whispered Chanhyung.

"You won't get better unless you eat, Chanhyung. Please eat."

Chanhyung didn't reply.

 

 

On the third morning, Kyuhyun brought a bowl of soup that he made himself.

Chanhyung still refused it.

Kyuhyun sighed.

"Let's see if you can get anything down, Chanhyung," coaxed Kyuhyun. "Do you still have any of the sweets that I gave you for your birthday?"

Chanhyung shook his head weakly. "No."

"You ate them all so fast?" said Kyuhyun, looking surprised.

Chanhyung shook his head again. "No, I gave them away – to a little slave boy."

"You don't like them anymore?" asked Kyuhyun, sounding a bit disappointed.

"No, it's not like that. He was staring while I ate one," whispered Chanhyung. "I had to."

Despite everything, both Changmin and Kyuhyun chuckled. "You're very kind, Chanhyung," said Kyuhyun. "Changmin, you've raised him so well."

 _I hardly did any raising_ , thought Changmin miserably, but he still stroked his son's forehead.

"He's a good boy," said Changmin. "Always has been."

Kyuhyun smiled then looked at Chanhyung. "I know you're not hungry, but please eat. If only for me. I almost exploded my kitchen making this, Chanhyung."

Chanhyung finally, for the first time since everything, smiled, which delighted both Changmin and Kyuhyun. The atmosphere then became so light that Changmin and Kyuhyun actually ended up getting some tea and warm soup in Chanhyung. It wasn't much, but they were both quite happy – it was certainly better than nothing, and maybe, _hopefully_ , they were making progress.

However, their happiness was short-lived as Changmin's door burst open, making all three of them jump.

Half a dozen guards and servants stood at the door, and, to Changmin's shock, they barged right into Changmin's room.

 

 

Changmin got up from his chair on weak legs, and stood his ground between the guards and Chanhyung and Kyuhyun, much braver than he was feeling. His head was blank, and a huge number of possibilities ran through his head.

 _Gods, they're here to arrest Kyuhyun_ , was the first thought that came into Changmin's head, but then Changmin's neck would be on the line as well for conspiring.

He just hoped they would spare Chanhyung, if that was the reason why they were here.

"What's going on," demanded Changmin, voice cracking. "I never gave you permission to come inside. Get out."

They didn't.

"We have royal orders to follow. Step out of the way," the head guard said to Changmin.

Changmin didn't back down an inch.

"You will tell me why you are here," said Changmin forcefully, standing his ground.

The head guard looked at Changmin. "We have orders to make sure the Prince's Mihwa eats."

_That's what they're here about? Chanhyung?_

Changmin stared.

"We just managed to get him to eat."

"We have strict instructions to observe him eating. He can eat some more."

Changmin saw then that one of the servants were carrying a bowl of gruel. Changmin looked at Chanhyung, who was pale and shaking, clearly in panic.

At the same time, Kyuhyun stepped forward. "I am the healer looking after Chanhyung. I can promise you, he will heal in time. You can go back and reassure the Prince that his Mihwa is well taken care of."

"Step aside, both of you," said the guard.

Changmin clenched his fists. Not this time.

 _Not this time_.

"No."

Changmin said through gritted teeth.

"You will not touch my son."

Changmin fought – or at least, he tried to, anyway. He was trained to fight, in the case that Yunho ever needed the protection. However, needless to say, Changmin gave up on the martial arts early on to focus on helping Yunho administratively while the guards still trained with the soldiers every day. Changmin only lasted seconds before being pinned against the wall by a guard. He was momentarily disoriented as the back of his head banged against the wall, and when he oriented himself again, Kyuhyun was also being held back against a wall by a guard.

Chanhyung was still sitting up in bed, pale as a ghost, when the servants approached him with the bowl.

"Gods, please, be gentle," begged Changmin. "Please, don't hurt him –"

"Eat," said the servant forcefully, shoving the bowl and spoon into Chanhyung's hands.

Changmin could see that Chanhyung was so terrified that he could barely even hold the spoon, let alone eat anything. When Chanhyung didn't move, the guards all moved in on him and pinned Chanhyung to the bed and tilted up his head.

Changmin felt his heart drop _._ "Don't touch him!" shouted Changmin desperately, struggling against the guard's hold. "For the gods' sake, I'll get him to eat it, please don't touch –"

His pleas fell on deaf ears as one of the servants forced Chanhyung's mouth open.

And to Changmin's absolute horror, the servant began to scoop the gruel mercilessly into his son's mouth.

Chanhyung was spitting and choking, and gruel ran down the side of his mouth and neck, and tears leaked from his eyes too. Soon, blood joined the mix and Changmin couldn't watch.

"You – You _monsters_ –" said Changmin hoarsely, trying to push the guard away, which it earned him another shove into the wall.

They continued to force the food into Chanhyung's mouth, forcing his mouth closed between every spoonful, regardless of whether he was choking or crying, and forcing spoons further down his throat when he wouldn't swallow.

Changmin screamed and cried, yelled for the gods and for Yunho, but the horrifying scene before his eyes continued until the bowl was empty.

When they had forced the entire bowl of food down Chanhyung's throat and finally stepped away from the young boy, it was so silent that it was impossible to believe that only seconds ago, the room had been a scene of struggle and cries.

The guards and servants left the room without another word, finally letting go of Changmin and Kyuhyun.

And Chanhyung was still sitting on the bed, eyes blank as if he had no hope left in his little being.

Changmin found it hard to approach his son this time. He was inadequate, not fit to be Chanhyung's father. He hated himself and what he was, and how inadequate he was.

Chanhyung lay back down slowly – he had no more strength to fight the world, no more strength to cry, to feel any sort of emotion anymore. He made to pull the covers over his own shoulders, and Changmin rushed towards his son and tucked him in.

Changmin then knelt at the head of the bed in shame. He couldn't even lift his head to look at his son. He would have nothing to say even if his son said that he never wanted see Changmin again, or if he decided to disown Changmin as his father.

But as he knelt, hot tears sliding down his face, he felt his son's small, warm, comforting hand on his cheek.

Changmin finally looked up at his baby son. Chanhyung was looking at him with sadness as he wiped the tears from his father's face with his thumb.

"Don't cry, daddy," whispered Chanhyung. "Please don't cry."

Changmin let out a small sob, because he deserved no forgiveness or love from his son.

"Why don't you hate me?" demanded Changmin, reaching up to take his son's hand into his own. "Why, Chanhyung, I'm a useless father who can't even protect you, why don't you hate me?"

Tears gathered in Chanhyung's eyes, too.

"How could I hate you?" said Chanhyung quietly. "You're the only person in the world who loves me."

As Changmin was struck speechless, Chanhyung spoke again.

"I wish we could live together, just the two of us," whispered Chanhyung. "And I wish no one will try to hurt us anymore."

The decision should have been hard, but it was also easy; it should have been hard because Changmin loved Yunho and couldn't imagine a life without him, but it was easy because all Changmin wanted was for his son to stop suffering and be happy.

And so he turned his head to look at the healer, who had been watching their interaction the entire time.

"Kyuhyun," whispered Changmin.

Tears fell from his eyes.

" _Please help us_."

 

 

At one point during the evening, Yunho came by and saw Chanhyung, whose face and whole body was so swollen that he was nearly unrecognizable. Yunho was aghast and stormed out, promising to have a word with his son.

Sungjun himself never came by, this time, Changmin thought, because he was embarrassed at himself. He relayed a word of apology through a servant, which Changmin dismissed on his son's behalf with a huff.

Changmin spent no time at all with Yunho for days, but the servants talked and gossiped; it was the palace after all. Changmin heard that Yunho had been furious at his son and had suspended all of the prince's activities and duties.

"It's true. How would he take good care of his people when he can't even look after his Mihwa?" Kyuhyun had whispered to Changmin. Changmin had shushed him, afraid that someone will overhear.

Sungjun didn't come by for a few days afterwards, but when he came, he had his head hung in shame and didn't even dare look his Mihwa in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Chanhyung," he'd murmured to the floor. "I don't expect you to forgive me now, but I hope you'll be able to forgive me in time."

Because of everything that was happening and the fact that Changmin and Chanhyung both stayed in the moment of it all, still all within the realm of the palace, it came as bit of a surprise when Kyuhyun came to them only a day later and spoke discreetly.

"We have been very fortunate," murmured Kyuhyun. "Everything went so smoothly. The carriage will be ready for you tonight. You'll know it's ready when the blanket over your horse at the stables is switched from black to red. You'll be able to see it from your window."

"Y-Yes, of course." Changmin stuttered.

"You have about an hour window between three and four in the morning to get yourself and Chanhyung in the carriage that will be waiting for you behind the West wing. The guards outside your room and the ones at the palace gates will let you through without question. They're with us as well."

"Yes, Kyuhyun."

"The driver of the carriage should drop you off at a field, so he won't be able to tell anyone where your final destination is. My friend should be at the field to take you and Chanhyung to the ferry. From there, someone should meet you to take you to a safe place until Chanhyung gets a chance to heal, and then he'll take you to China once he's well."

"Kyuhyun –" Changmin hesitated. "What… what if… what if I want to… what if I want to say goodbye to the King before I leave?"

Kyuhyun goggled at him.

"You want to do _what_?"

Changmin swallowed. "What if –"

"Changmin, this isn't play," hissed Kyuhyun, cutting him off. "This isn't pretend. This is real. We worked hard for you. We are risking our lives for yours. For you and your son's lives to be better."

"Y-Yes. I know."

"Don't put us all in danger with silly games," said Kyuhyun angrily. "The King will not be on your side."

Changmin didn't answer, because Kyuhyun didn't understand it.

Yunho _was_ on his side. He always has been.

"Be responsible, if only for your son," said Kyuhyun.

"Yes," replied Changmin quietly. "Y-Yes. I… Thank you. Thank you so much."

"There's no need to thank me," whispered Kyuhyun. "Good luck."

 

 

Yunho knew something was different tonight. It wasn't necessarily… wrong. But it was different.

It had been a very long time since Changmin and Yunho shared a bed, with Changmin always taking care of Chanhyung.

It had been even longer since they shared a bed properly, as King and Mihwa. So long, in fact, that Yunho couldn't even remember when the last time was that they did.

Yet Changmin was on his knees in the middle of Yunho's candlelit bedroom for the first time in what felt like ages, and was being the perfect Mihwa that he knew Changmin wasn't.

But he was gorgeous, Changmin was; he was absolutely stunning.

They had spent their entire lives together, but every single time Yunho laid eyes on Changmin, Yunho fell in love with him all over again.

Yunho let out a breath and bent down towards Changmin. "You're so beautiful," whispered Yunho. "Gods, I love you. I love you so much."

Yunho was lucky, so lucky that Changmin was his. So, so lucky.

Changmin tilted his head up to let Yunho kiss him, and a bead of his tear rolled down his face.

Yunho didn't know why Changmin was crying, but it hardly mattered.

He just caressed Changmin with as much love as he could muster, and allowed Changmin to wrap his arms around Yunho's waist delicately.

"I love you," whispered Changmin. Another tear rolled down his face. "I love you, Yunho. I love you."

Yunho knew something was different, because Changmin rarely ever said the words, unlike Yunho.

"I know," cooed Yunho, kissing his lover again. "I know."

"I love you," repeated Changmin.

Yunho pulled away for a second. "Baby – Baby, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Changmin, voice thick and tears were steadily falling now. "Just… don't ever forget that I love you."

Yunho felt his own eyes fill with tears now, too, because he thought he knew why Changmin was saying this.

But he didn't want to admit to it, he didn't want to make it real.

This… this couldn't be the last night that they would spend together. It _couldn't_.

"No," whispered Yunho. "No, Changmin, please –"

"I love you," repeated Changmin, over and over. "I love you."

It felt as if he had lost his entire world.

 

 

"Go to sleep, Yunho," whispered Changmin, running his hand around Yunho's face.

Yunho didn't want to. He didn't want this to be the last night he looked at the beauty that was Changmin.

He wanted to stay like this forever, lying in bed with Changmin in his arms.

"I want to stay awake and look at you," replied Yunho quietly.

"Please sleep," begged Changmin.

"What if I don't want to?" whispered Yunho.

"You have to, Yunho," said Changmin. Yunho noticed that his eyes were starting to fill with tears again. "Close your eyes."

He ran his fingers over Yunho's eyes to try to close them.

As he did, Yunho felt a tear of his own roll down his cheek.

"I want to see you even though I know you're right here," said Yunho quietly. "I want you to just be right here for me to look at."

"Go to sleep, Yunho," whispered Changmin. "I love you."

Yunho didn't, couldn't sleep. But he pretended to sleep and kept his eyes closed for hours until finally, Changmin got up from the bed. He watched through his tear-strung eyelashes as Changmin bowed to Yunho three times, kneeling and touching his forehead to the floor each time.

And Yunho loved Changmin so much that he just let him leave. 

 

 

Leaving the palace was almost anticlimactically smooth and simple.

Changmin had consciously chosen to keep Chanhyung in the dark so that should they ever be caught, Chanhyung would have nothing to do with it.

So when he shook his groggy son awake and quickly got him dressed and carried into the carriage, Chanhyung was lost, to say the least.

Chanhyung laid in the carriage with his head in Changmin's lap, clearly assuming that this was an errand of some kind. However, once the carriage had passed the palace gates and it passed through an abandoned wooded trail, Chanhyung looked at his father.

"Dad?" said Chanhyung with a frown. "Where – Where are we going?"

Changmin let out a breath.

"Away," replied Changmin, stroking his son's cheek. "We're going away."


	4. Epilogue

 "I got this letter from my son, Mr. Shim," said the man in front of him, wringing his hand in nervousness. "You know, right? He's in the –"

"He's in the capital, studying for a government post. I know," said Changmin with a smile.

He opened up the folded letter and began to read it aloud for the man.

It was good news, really – that he will be sitting the exams for government post next month, and that his studies were going smoothly. Judging by the penmanship, Changmin thought that he might actually have a good chance at a post.

Changmin looked up. "Will you write back?" said Changmin.

The man nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, could you write that we're very proud of him, and we're thinking of him – and that we are all healthy and we wish him the best of luck –"

Changmin smiled as he dipped the brush into the ink and began to write.

This was how he lived as of now.

The original plan was for one of Kyuhyun's acquaintances to take him and Chanhyung to China, but Changmin didn't have the heart to leave the country, at least not while Yunho was King. So Changmin and Chanhyung ended up in a small, remote village far away from the palace where they pretended to be displaced peasants. One of the kind nobles in the village had allowed Changmin to use one of his back buildings as a school for young peasants and slaves as Changmin and Chanhyung tended over their farm to earn their keep.

The money they earned as hands on the farm wasn't much, and Changmin knew that this was unsustainable in the long run. Some would think that Changmin was silly, because the only other way he earned his keep was by writing and reading letters and documents for those who couldn't read on market days, and now, he was teaching a whole classroom full of young peasant boys and girls how to read and write. But Changmin wanted to give every little boy and girl as much chance as they stood to better their lives in ways that they chose.

It was likely that he and Chanhyung would need to start work in something else soon; most likely, Chanhyung would have to do twice the work on the farm and Changmin would end up at working for another household.

He was getting old now, though, he really was. So he doubted that anyone would even really want to hire him as a servant.

And Chanhyung.

His baby boy was… grown up.

He was taller and stronger – and happier.

Most certainly happier.

Chanhyung was no longer a boy, but a young man.

Changmin often wondered what would become of Chanhyung, and whether he could live a better life than this as his background as a runaway slave. Maybe he will marry and have children of his own. It was unlikely that his children would ever earn a place in government because they wouldn't be able to prove their heritage, but there was no reason why they couldn't live quiet, reasonable lives. After all, not all slaves and peasants were registered or even had a clear name.

Changmin knew that Chanhyung had begun to meet with a girl quite often, the innkeeper's daughter, going for walks and such. But he was still tiptoeing around her, knowing his own background as a slave (although they were pretending to be peasants). Whether her parents would agree to allow Chanhyung to marry their daughter would be another issue altogether.

And Yunho – oh, Yunho.

Every day for seven years, he prayed for Yunho at dawn for an hour, then again at night.

Changmin thought about Yunho, dreamt about Yunho.

As Kyuhyun predicted, Yunho hadn't sent his guards after Changmin and Chanhyung, and there was never a call for a search for the two runaway palace slaves.

He wondered if Yunho would still be loving him if he were back at the palace, or whether Yunho would have moved on as Changmin began to look older.

He wondered whether Yunho missed him as much as he missed Yunho. He wondered what Yunho was doing, and whether he would ever be able to see him again.

He often wondered what would happen if they ever saw each other again by chance. Perhaps they would still love each other, and they would be like any couple of lovers who just met – but perhaps, Yunho will punish Changmin as a runaway, which would be just –

"Thank you so much, Mr. Shim," said the man genuinely, taking the letter in his hands preciously.

"You're very welcome," said Changmin.

"I – I only have two coins, but I will bring you more once –"

"That's quite all right," said Changmin, cutting him off with a chuckle. "I wish your boy all the luck."

"Thank you, may the gods rain down blessings on you."

Changmin smiled as he left, clutching the letters close to his chest.

He looked up as the next person in line stepped forward.

The aura that this man gave off was different from what Changmin was used to. Unlike the rough burlap that the peasants and Changmin wore, this man was wearing a robe of fine gauze and silks and a hat with a large shade that covered his face – but Changmin had seen plenty of rich men who were unable to read – he wasn't going to let himself be too intimidated.

The long sleeves covered all but the tips of his visitor's fingers as he held out a scroll for Changmin to read for him. Changmin took it carefully in both of his hands.

Changmin took his time a bit with the scroll, because the paper was of such high quality and he didn't want to damage it – he had rarely seen paper like this since he had left the palace.

Once he carefully opened the scroll, he cleared his throat and began to read.

"My world changed when you left me," read Changmin. "The skies were never as blue when you left, and the water never as clear. The sunshine was never as warm, Mihwa, and…"

Changmin did a double take.

_Wait._

 "And… And the flowers – the flowers–" stuttered Changmin, " – the – the flowers never – "

_My gods._

The scroll slipped out of Changmin's hands at the same time that his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

Changmin looked up slowly to see the familiar face under the shade of the hat, and – gods, his heart was going to explode –

Blood began to pound in his face and his ears, this had to be a dream, but it wasn't, he knew it wasn't, this was too real – and gods, if it's real, what is he doing? He should be running, gods, he could die, right now, right here –

Changmin knocked over the chair that he was sitting in as he stood, trying to make his way to the door, but Yunho grabbed Changmin tightly by the wrist before he could make it.

Changmin tried to pull out of Yunho's grip, and in their struggle, everything clattered from the table onto the floor.

"Let – go –" bit out Changmin, still in a state of panic, when Yunho, gods, _Yunho_ – finally spoke.

"Changmin, it's me, it's just me," he said. "I missed you so much, Changmin, please – please don't run away – not again –"

Changmin swallowed.

"Please. I've been looking everywhere for you, just – just to see you, Changmin, I wanted to just see you again in my lifetime. Changmin, gods, I missed you, I missed you so much –"

Changmin still tried to pull away, albeit not as hard.

He couldn't once he saw the look in Yunho's eyes.

And finally, when he stopped struggling against Yunho's grasp, he got a good look at Yunho's face.

Yunho still looked the same – the same kind, handsome face that he had fallen in love with, and the same warm eyes. They were laden with age and sadness, but somehow, he still looked exactly the same.

"You didn't miss me," whispered Yunho.

Changmin stared. _How could I not miss you?_ was on the tip of Changmin's tongue, but he swallowed and stayed silent.

Yunho loosened his hold on Changmin's wrist.

"I spent the last seven years searching for you all over the country, just to be able to see your face again," whispered Yunho. His eyes were heavy with disappointment and devastation. "And you… you…"

Changmin breathed out. He still had no head to talk, and no face to speak.

"Let us at least talk," said Yunho quietly. "Can we go to a quiet place?"

Changmin was still frozen, unable to quite process this situation and even deciphering whether or not this was a dream – but with Yunho's strong hold and lead, he more or less stumbled outside.

Yunho knew the way to Changmin's little home, so it was clear that Yunho had been watching Changmin for quite some time before deciding to approach him.

Yunho sat down once they were in the room, and Changmin knelt before the King, cautiously, before touching his head to the floor and waiting for Yunho's word to raise his head. It had been years since he had had to use his royal procedures, but there was no forgetting it.

After a long while, Yunho spoke. "Raise your head, and sit comfortably."

Changmin straightened his back but stayed on his knees as Yunho watched. When it was clear that Changmin wasn't going to change his position any more, Yunho sighed.

"You look… different," said Yunho quietly. "If it were anyone else, they might not have recognized you."

Changmin didn't reply.

"I… wish you had been as happy to see me again as I had been to see you."

Changmin spoke quietly to the floor. "No runaway slave would be happy to see his master."

"No slave who loved his master would run away in the first place," said Yunho quietly.

Changmin closed his eyes and hung his head.

And then he said the words that Changmin had been dreading, the words that he prayed that he would never hear from Yunho.

"I still love you," whispered Yunho, looking pained.

"Gods," breathed Changmin, turning his head away.

"Please tell me you still love me too, Changmin. I love you – I still love you. Do you still love me?"

Changmin swallowed, tears beginning to gather at the corners of his eyes, because of course he still loved Yunho.

But no, because now he was a criminal who would die at Yunho's word.

He didn't want to use Yunho's love this way. Changmin deserved all the punishment in the world for leaving Yunho, and he couldn't use their love to excuse himself.

When Changmin stayed quiet, Yunho pressed harder. "Changmin, we – we loved each other, didn't we? Weren't we – weren't we lovers? Did you ever really truly love me, Changmin, or did you just pretend? Please tell me, please."

It hurt, it hurt that Yunho was questioning the sincerity of what had been so, so real – the past that had been so beautiful and filled with love. That even the memories were being tainted.

And Changmin was crying so hard now, tears endlessly falling from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Changmin, voice thick through his tears. "I – I'm so…"

"I just want you to be happy," said Yunho quietly. "That's all I ever wanted. For you to be happy. And… and for me to be with you. Changmin – I thought I did everything I could to make you happy. Even… Even letting you go. So why are you crying?"

"I'm – I'm – sorry…"

_I'm sorry for betraying your kindness, your care, your love. I'm sorry for choosing my son over you. I don't know what else to say._

"Changmin, I promised that I would never hurt you, and that promise still stands," said Yunho. "So stop apologizing and talk to me like you used to. Changmin – we're past all this. At least… we used to be."

"I don't know what else to say," whispered Changmin. "You're the King, and I'm just – just… a slave that you have been so kind to, and I betrayed your trust and your kindness. I owe you my life, but I left you. There's nothing I can say to make any of that any more acceptable."

Yunho listened quietly before speaking again.

"I know why you left," said Yunho. "And I understand. But that's not what I asked. I asked if you really loved me, or if you were just pretending all this time just because you were my slave and I was kind to you."

Changmin was silent, unable to explain himself. How could he possibly convince Yunho that everything was was real when he'd just left Yunho like that?

After a long while of silence, Yunho chuckled.

"That's all right. I understand. You don't have to say anything."

Changmin looked up a bit, just desperately hopeful that Yunho would understand, but then Yunho spoke again.

"It was good to see you again, my dear Mihwa," said Yunho. He then smiled, but it was so pained that it barely looked like one. "Goodbye. And I'm sorry that I... I was so naive when you were with me. I... I should have known that it was never possible for us to love each other. Not in our respective places."

He then got to his feet and walked to the door. Changmin was going to stop him, really was -- but then he turned around and looked at Changmin one last time.

"There _is_ a search warrant for you and Chanhyung for formality's sake, although I made sure it was never distributed. But don't ever enter the capital, or I can't guarantee your safety."

Changmin was still on his knees, as Yunho swiftly left the room.

Changmin stumbled out of the room if only to grab onto the skirt of Yunho's robes and ask him for forgiveness, but by the time Changmin had gone outside, Yunho was already riding away.

 

 

Perhaps Changmin really was as selfish as he felt. Perhaps the very fact that he'd never tried to return to Yunho again after he'd left was a sign of how selfish he was. Really, Yunho had shown him an overwhelming amount of kindness that Changmin had never repaid.

And maybe, it was time that Changmin did.

He'd done his job as a father in making sure Chanhyung was safe and looked after, and perhaps it was now time to show Yunho that he had as much love as he deserved.

It took him a few days to work up the courage, but he finally found it in himself to sit Chanhyung down in front of him after their work one night.

"Chanhyung, listen carefully, because I have something very important to say," said Changmin quietly.

Chanhyung nodded. "Yes, father."

"Chanhyung, remind me of how old you are now."

"I'm twenty-one."

Of course Changmin didn't need reminding. But he wanted Chanhyung to say it, so that Chanhyung was reminded of how old he was. Of the fact that he was no longer a child who needed his father.

"That's right," said Changmin with a smile. "You've become a strong, handsome young man."

Chanhyung smiled a bit, and so Changmin continued.

"You certainly don't need a father breathing down your neck anymore."

"You've never breathed down my neck," said Chanhyung. "Not since we left the palace."

"Yes, and you never needed me to," said Changmin. "Chanhyung, I have somewhere to go."

Chanhyung nodded. "And you don't need me to accompany you?"

Changmin chuckled. "No, Chanhyung. I have to go alone."

"Okay," said Chanhyung with a frown. "Where are you going? And when are you coming back?"

"Chanhyung, listen carefully," said Changmin, reaching forward and taking his son's hand into his own. "I may not come back."

The horror on Chanhyung's face was too much for Changmin to take. "What? What do you mean? Where -- Where are you going? Father."

Changmin briefly considered lying, but soon decided that his son deserved better than that.

"I'm going to go back to the palace."

" _What?_ Father -- Father, are you -- Father, we're -- we're runaway slaves, we'll be killed!"

"Not you, just me," said Changmin calmly. "I have things to settle."

"But why? Father, no, stay here with me, we're safe here. I'll take good care of you. I know how much you've sacrificed to keep me safe, and dad, I'll never let you sacrifice yourself for anything else again."

"Oh, Chanhyung, you are a sweet boy," chuckled Changmin. He reached up and ran his hand down his son's face. "But I left things unfinished with the King, and I need to try to make it right again."

"Dad, he's the king, he doesn't need you," said Chanhyung, shaking his head. "He can fix anything, get anything he wants with a beck of his finger."

"Indeed," agreed Changmin. "But this is something that only I can fix."

"You lived your whole life for the King, and now he wants you to die for him, too?" cried Chanhyung. "Dad, there's no need to serve a selfish king who demands your death!"

"Chanhyung," hissed Changmin. "Don't you dare speak ill of the King."

Chanhyung looked up in surprise.

"Father."

"He always gave me more than I deserved," said Changmin quietly. "I owe my life to him, and I'm just giving it back to him."

Chanhyung looked at the floor, contrite, but then spoke again. "Then let me go instead. Father, it was me that made you --"

"No," said Changmin flatly. "Chanhyung, you don't have anything to do with this. This is between me and the King. What _you_ have to do is to get a good night's sleep, and have a good day of work tomorrow. And starting tomorrow, you'll take over as the teacher at the school. The kids are counting on you to stay and teach them to read and write."

Chanhyung looked so troubled that Changmin stopped talking.

"I'm leaving you with too much, aren't I? You're still too young to shoulder all of that."

"It's not that," said Chanhyung quietly. "It's just... I thought we were past everything to do with the palace and royalty. I... I thought all we had left to do was live peacefully and happily."

Changmin chuckled. "And I want you to continue to do that. In fact, that's really all that I ever wanted from you." He ruffled his son's hair and got to his feet to start getting ready for bed.

Chanhyung stayed unmoving until Changmin had finished spreading out the sheets, and when Changmin blew out the candle and asked his son to go to sleep, Chanhyung finally spoke. And when he spoke, it was obvious that he was crying.

"Dad, I'm so sorry," whispered Chanhyung. "I'm so, so sorry for all of this."

"Chanhyung, listen to me. Nothing is your fault," emphasized Changmin. "None of this is your fault. None of this. I want you to understand that."

Chanhyung was silent, so Changmin shuffled closer to his son and hugged him to his chest. "You're the best son that I could ever have wished for," said Changmin. "I'm so, so proud of you, Chanhyung, and how much you've grown... and I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through."

"I -- I --"

"The best thing you can do for me now is to be happy and healthy. And be brave, Chanhyung."

Chanhyung buried his face into Changmin's shoulder, and Changmin wondered for a moment or two whether his son was still too young for Changmin to leave him -- but then he reminded himself, Chanhyung's no longer a little boy, even though he seemed like it to Changmin. One day, Changmin was going to have to let go of his baby son.

It was just that the day was sooner than he'd thought.

 

 

"Your Majesty, your father would have been extremely disappointed to know that his son would take an entire week to do nothing at all. The throne is a very important place, as you of course know."

Yunho looked up tiredly from his seat at the old Cabinet member, who was so sternly criticizing him, so publicly too, in front of the rest of the Cabinet and also his son, who joined him for all royal duties now.

For the past week, Yunho forwent all of his obligations as King and spent the days just dealing with his emotions.

That Changmin had refused to even look at Yunho was a shock in the least, and he wondered whether there was anyone in the world he could truly trust.

The elation that he had felt when he had finally found Changmin and realized that his search for the last seven years hadn't been in vain had not only completely disappeared, but he also felt humiliated. He had imagined his reunion with Changmin in a myriad of different ways, but Changmin pulling away from him to run for the second time was not one of them, especially since he had believed that Changmin had run for the sake of Chanhyung and nothing else.

Today, he had forced himself to return to his post, because he undoubtedly had several hundred of his people waiting for him to read their letters of anguish and ask for his mercy and advice, and just as many reports from his officials and his Cabinet.

He therefore had spent the morning reading letters and writing replies (which he did all on his own, since he hadn't hired anyone to replace Changmin as Mihwa -- but he was beginning to think that he needed someone to help now) and spent some time in the afternoon with the Cabinet, who were all so keen on reminding him how irresponsible he was to take such a long time off work, in the polite and impolite ways.

If Changmin were still here, Changmin would probably whisper in his ear, _Don't let them bully you_ \--

But no, because Changmin was gone, and Yunho had to forget him. He had to move on.

"From now on, no one speaks to me about my Mihwa," said Yunho finally. "I will have the servants clean out his old room. He was nothing more than just another palace slave."

It would be his first step in finally... finally taking the effort to forget his old lover.

 

 

Yunho stayed up all night catching up on his reports and letters, and he knew he would have to spend the next few nights doing the same. He wrote back to every single letter that needed a reply, but at this rate, he would never catch up.

He would never find another slave that was as educated as Changmin was, but he would probably end up finding a young noble to help him more closely.

There probably was not a single ancestor of his that loved his Mihwa as much as Yunho did, but in the end, Yunho would go down in history as the King who ended the lineage of Mihwas.

Yunho forced the gnawing thoughts away and turned his attention back to the pile of letters.

_Don't overwork yourself,_ Changmin would have said if he were here, perhaps with a pot of tea and a comforting kiss before picking up the brush himself to help him with the replies --

Yunho swallowed and clenched his eyes shut for a moment, willing Chagmin's image away.

And he worked for the entire night.

 

 

It wasn't until four days later that Yunho heard anything out of the ordinary, and it was delivered by none other than his son.

Yunho had been quite tired, still catching up on the piles of paperwork, when the servant announced that the prince was here.

Yunho gave the word to allow his son to enter, and his son all but ran towards Yunho.

"Father, there is something you need to see, I --"

"Please use proper greeting and your manners, Sungjun, sit down and start over," said Yunho.

However, Sungjun ploughed on.

"Please, father, I know you said you didn't want to ever hear about him, but it's... it's about - about your Mihwa --"

Yunho froze.

"He is here, and he is going to die under torture, please, and -- and you should see him one last time before it happens."

Yunho slowly looked up at his son, who now had tears of desperation in his eyes.

"What are you saying?" whispered Yunho. "He -- _Changmin_ \-- is here...?"

"Yes, father, I've just seen him -- a palace physician who knew him came to see me because... because he was not to speak to you about him," said Sungjun. "The officers are treating it as a case of any other runaway palace slave, as you ordered, and... and he looks awful."

He looked at Yunho and sank to his knees.

"Father -- I know I can't challenge you on your orders and you don't come and go at a slave's beck and call, but -- but I've wronged him, and his son, and I... this is the least I can do. Please, Your Majesty, I will take any punishment you give me, but please have mercy on Changmin..."

Yunho swallowed. Then when he finally gathered his wits, he got to his feet.

"Thank you, Sungjun," said Yunho, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could. "I will see him."

 

 

Changmin heard footsteps approach his cell, and he curled up a bit tighter on the floor, and when he heard the door open, he flinched instinctively.

The previous beating session had ended abruptly, and he was in too much agony to understand why, since he was sure that had the beating gone on for just a bit longer, he would have died.

He had hoped that he would be able to see Yunho again before he died, but if Yunho didn't want to see him, he didn't have to. He definitely didn't have to.

"Get up," ordered a guard in a low voice. "Hurry."

It took him a long time to push himself off the floor, having to use every muscle in his arms to do so, since his legs in too much pain to actually move properly. Eventually, he managed to sit up on his knees, still never having looked up at the ones giving him the orders.

Hopefully they would be kind enough to help him out of the cell from here.

He took solace in the probability that this would probably be the beating session in which he would finally die, free from the pain.

But there was none of the brisk manner with which they had been taking him in and out of the courts for the beatings; this time, there was silence and stillness as Changmin knelt.

And so, Changmin looked up from his lap slowly.

He didn't have to look up very far to notice the leather boots and the skirt of the red royal robe.

 

 

Yunho could barely even breathe when he saw his Mihwa, whipped and bleeding, curled up on the floor.

He had done all that he could to have his slave live without a single blemish on his body, which had been no easy feat. But now, here he was, here his lover was, with his entire body covered in blood and barely even able to sit up.

He felt his heart break, and he had to hold back tears when he finally spoke.

"You idiot," he whispered. "Why did you come back? I told you not to."

Changmin finally raised his head to look Yunho in the eyes.

"I broke my promise to live for you," said Changmin, tears in his eyes, but he was also smiling. Gods, the idiot he loved was smiling. "So I came to die for you."

"My gods," whispered Yunho in exasperation.

Yunho had seen prisoners who were sentenced to death before, and each of them barely even kept their noses off the floor as they begged Yunho for mercy.

But Changmin -- Changmin was different.

He grasped Yunho's hand, and then his robe, and pulled until Yunho bent down.

When their faces were just inches apart, Changmin looked up into Yunho's eyes. "You're the King, and I'm a slave, and I'm not supposed to touch you without your permission," whispered Changmin. "But I'm going to be put to death anyway, so I have nothing to lose."

Changmin reached up with his hands covered in his own blood to cup Yunho's face with them. He leaned forward until Yunho could see the tears strung into his eyelashes, and then he kissed Yunho -- gently, beautifully, lovingly.

When they parted, Yunho had tears in his own eyes, because he was so silly to doubt Changmin and their love.

"I'm sorry," whispered Yunho. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Changmin shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

Yunho held back a sob.

"I missed you," whispered Changmin. "And like I said when I left -- I love you. I always loved you. I still do."

Yunho reached up and embraced Changmin, who fell into his chest in exhaustion. Yunho lifted Changmin off the ground in his arms and carried him out of the cell.

 

 

Changmin healed, although it did take time.

When he awoke the next morning, it was in Yunho's familiar, soft, white bed, with sunlight shining through the window into his eyes.

He grunted through his pain as he took a deep breath, when he saw another familiar face.

"Hello, stranger," said the healer. "Long time no see."

Changmin's eyes widened. "Kyuhyun."

Changmin looked around for a split second, wondering if Yunho was there, but the room was empty besides Kyuhyun.

"The King was here watching over you the whole night, but he was called away to attend to his duties," said Kyuhyun, clearly not having missed it.

"Of course," whispered Changmin, attempting to nod, but wincing because of the pain. "King duties. They're very important."

Kyuhyun sighed and looked meaningfully into Changmin's eyes.

"You weren't supposed to come back," whispered Kyuhyun.

"I had to," managed Changmin. "I... I owed him."

"You owed him nothing," growled Kyuhyun, but Changmin shook his head.

"You don't understand," croaked Changmin. "I owe him _everything._ My life, my love."

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes.

"You're impossible," sighed Kyuhyun. Changmin drew in a breath to respond, but Kyuhyun stopped him. "Stop talking and rest."

Changmin did.

 

 

Eventually, Changmin returned to his post as Mihwa for Yunho.

Chanhyung never come back to serve Sungjun, but in the end, Sungjun became the prince who freed an entire lineage of Mihwa from slavery; immediately afterwards, Sungjun wrote up emancipation papers for Chanhyung, so that he could truly be freed. Chanhyung was given a small title and with that, he ended up marrying the innkeeper's daughter after all. Changmin attended the wedding, and eventually, Chanhyung became a father himself to a lovely baby boy, who was the first in the Shim family not to be born into slavery.

Freedom was offered to Changmin as well, but tempting as it was, he chose to stay with Yunho in all of the familiarity, and because he owed Yunho _everything_.

Yunho treated Changmin with even more kindness and care than he used to, which Changmin hadn't known was possible, and Changmin served Yunho with as much dedication and loyalty as ever. Yunho allowed Changmin to visit Chanhyung whenever he wanted, which Changmin was grateful for.

Any master and slave who spent a long enough time together could, or _would_ , have and element of attachment. But love... That was different.

And Yunho and Changmin loved each other intensely and passionately in all that time.


End file.
